Former Navy officers Christopher Mannion MBA ‘16 and Brian Kirk MBA ’16 joined forces with US Army operative Samuel Perlik MBA ’16 to found Hive Maritime in 2015 after discussing their frustrations with poor ship efficiency during a data analytics class at MIT.
Hive uses the latest predictive analysis, operations theory, and machine learning technology to decrease congestion in shipping lanes and ports around the world. Their solution provides ship owners and operators with route optimization tools that will save over $2 billion in operational expenses alone, as well as greatly reducing risk.
Hive’s pathway began with MIT’s $100K Entrepreneurship Competition — first in Pitch, then Accelerate and Launch. The three co-founders also took classes on entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management and joined several student clubs while working out their solution.
In their second year, they re-entered the MIT $100K and received mentorship from the MIT Venture Mentoring Service, which helped them hone their idea. They built out their technical expertise by recruiting Zachary Owen PhD ‘16.
In 2016, Hive Maritime won the MIT $100K Data Prize and was accepted into the MIT delta v accelerator, which enabled them to further expand their team.
